Stunned slaughter and audits at slaughterhouses
All fresh meat and meat preparations of our private labels in our Bio-Planet, Colruyt, Okay, Cru and Spar stores come from animals that have been stunned before slaughter. We closely monitor compliance of our promise and have Quality Control perform unannounced checks in the abattoirs.
Stunned slaughter: the standard for our private labels
With stunned slaughter, the animals are unconscious and do not experience the slaughter process, which improves animal welfare. According to European legislation, stunned slaughter is obligatory, with exceptions for animals that are slaughtered in the context of religious rites. Colruyt Group does not allow these exceptions. All fresh meat and meat preparations of our private labels (such as Boni, Cru or Everyday) at Colruyt, Okay, Spar and Cru come from animals that are guaranteed to have been stunned before slaughter. This is also the case at Bio-Planet, as stunned slaughter is a requirement for organic qualification.
of our fresh meat and meat preparations came from slaughtered animals that have been stunned (private labels, in 2023)
of Belgian abattoirs supplying Fine Food Meat received unannounced animal welfare checks in 2023
Checks on animal welfare in abattoirs
All Belgian abattoirs with which our Fine Food Meat processing department cooperates are regularly visited by our purchasers and quality department. During such an audit, we check whether the agreements on animal welfare are complied with. Quality Control also performs unannounced checks. This independent inspection body also checks whether the legal provisions and the extra requirements in our animal welfare specifications are properly observed. Among other things, it checks whether the animals were correctly stunned.
Extra animal welfare measures
The abattoirs we work with have to prove they comply with all legal animal welfare requirements as well as the covenant of the National Belgian Federation of slaughterhouses (FEBEV). They stipulate, among other things, permanent camera supervision at various strategic locations in the abattoir. In addition, each abattoir must appoint an "Animal Welfare Officer". He or she ensures the slaughter process is carried out with respect for the animals and reports to the management.
